Secret daughter of Freddie Mercury criticizes Bohemian Rhapsody

A woman who says she is the secret daughter of Freddie Mercury has sharply criticized the Oscar winning 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and renewed controversy over the late singer's private life ahead of a new biography due next month. The woman, who identifies herself only as B and says she was born from a brief liaison in 1976, told the book's author that the film is "full of fabrication" and that Mercury would have been "appalled" by its portrayal of him.

B, now 48 and living in Europe where she works in the medical profession, is quoted in the forthcoming biography as saying she came forward to correct cinematic inaccuracies, including what she described as errors in the handling of Mercury's HIV diagnosis and the film's timeline of events. She criticized Rami Malek's performance for lacking the real Mercury's warmth and said the movie "presents a version of him so far removed from the truth." She also accused those who manage Queen's legacy of exploiting the star since his death in 1991.

In the book, B says she had a close relationship with Mercury and that he entrusted her with 17 handwritten journals beginning in 1976, which she has vowed never to publish. She also alleges...